See also: Bangkok's 17 best new restaurants 2015

Baa Ga Din

The latest opening from chef Thitid Tassanakajorn (Le Du, Taper, Baan) offers the city’s most modern interpretation of Thai street food yet. Working with American chef Chandler Schultz, Thithid's small plates are deceptively simple. Humble deep-fried chicken wings are partly deboned, pressure-cooked before frying, and served with a fermented green chili sauce and basil mayo (B160). Crispy oysters (hoy tod, B280) are battered-fried with egg mousse then served with oyster mayo and chili puree. These little purees which appear in nearly every dish are just amazing concentrates of flavor, such as the one served with the moo krob (B200), which involves hours of jus reduction. In fact, there's a feeling you're getting Le Du-levels of fine-dining, molecular sophistication at much more casual prices. The setting, too, has the feel of a large bistro that references rusticity and nostalgia through numerous symbolic decorations: fighting cocks and fish, lottery numbers, utilitarian tables fit for a schoolyard. 

Upstairs at Mikkeller

Craft beer house Mikkeller pulls in a crowd devoted to tasting the finest hops from around the world in a laidback setting. But up on the second story of this leafy, converted family home you'll find something quite different: a nine-course fine-dining beer pairing experience helmed by a former sous chef at Chicago's three-Michelin-star Grace restaurant. He describes his food as progressive American, meaning a mix-and-match approach to techniques and ingredients that's unbounded by geography. It's only open Fri-Sat dinner time, and 3-4 days notice is recommended.

Bangkok Bold Cooking Studio

Chef Supanut “Ann” Kanarak (previously head of Four Season’s Spice Market) has partnered with Chortip “Nhoi” Ouypornchaisakul (of the defunct Parata Diamond) and Waraphan Chanthong (who formerly worked at Nahm) to open a cooking studio which doubles as a chef’s table for six to ten people. At B1,200 net, the chefs cook up seven courses of delicious traditional Thai food spanning amuse bouche, appetizers, three dishes to eat with rice and two desserts. Sophisticated Thai techniques are showcased in the mee grob (crispy noodles) and nam prik platoo (minced mackerel chili paste), for which the mackerel is grilled and stir-fried for extra flavor.   

Uno Mas

This semi-alfresco tapas bar and restaurant sits high up on Centara Grand's 54th floor, dishing out casual sharing plates. Some 40-odd hot and cold tapas dominate the menu, alongside a selection of very fancy cold cuts like Joselito ham (described as the best Iberian ham in the world) as well as live Boston lobsters and all the big-name oysters. Don't miss the Cochinillo suckling pig served the Spanish way: halved down the middle, perfectly salted and permeated with the flavor of fresh rosemary. Plenty for two with more to spare. 

2nd Yard

Charoenkrung has welcomed an exciting new sandwich shop, opened in consultation with the guys behind Phra Athit institution Escapade Burgers and Shakes. This influence shows in both the menu and the barebones setup. Located just a few minutes' walk from Soulbar, the deep, one-unit shop-house boasts a large bar and kitchen taking up the left side of the room with a more proper dining area at the back. The owners whip up big-portioned sandwiches with pretty innovative fillings, like grilled pork neck with bacon and apple sauce (B280), deep-fried squid with spicy turmeric sauce (B360) and grilled unagi with grilled green pepper and ponzu sauce (B550), each served between two pieces of lightly-charred ciabatta. Unlike other night spots, here the drinks list is focused mainly on juice-based smoothies (B75) and black tea (B65), though they still have a few rotating beers (starting at B200 for imported bottles, B100 for Chang) and spirits starting from B200. Don’t miss the refreshing Secret of Eden smoothie (green apple, mint, pink grapefruit, pineapple, pink grapefruit syrup).

Jamie's Burgers

Arguably the best new burger in town comes from a humble location. Jamie’s Burger is little more than a tiny stall out the front of a futsal complex in residential Ari but its owner, Pongsakorn “James” Boonraksa, takes great care in hand-picking his chilled beef daily. The burger's beef patty is a well-balanced, slightly seasoned mixture of Thai and Japanese wagyu that pairs perfectly with the charred bun, sourced from the town of Sungai Golok (down on the Malaysian border). The simple but super-tasty handful is topped off by a tangy, tomato-based housemade sauce. Prices start at B99 for a regular pork burger and B119 for beef, while you can go large with the Double Monster (two cheese patties with super crispy bacon, caramelized onion and Jamie’s special sauce, B189/219). They also serve an ever-changing variety of steaks at a range of price points, from Australian wagyu tomahawk to USDA ribeye.

Jubei Izakaya

There's a new minimal-looking izakaya in Mahatun Plaza. On top of drinking food like karaage, tempura, bao buns, gyoza and yakitori, Jubei Izakaya also serves tonkotsu (B220), chashu shoyu (B220) and garlic miso (B190) varieties of ramen during the day. To drink, shochu and sake is the main focus, with cocktails like Jubei Stormy (sake, ginger beer and lime espuma, B220), Shoshlet (shochu, gin, lime juice and syrup, B220) and sake punch (sake, sugar cane syrup and lime juice, B220) on top of Kuro Kirishima imo shochu (B240), Manotsuru Junmai sake (B490/300ml) and another 10 labels. Check their Facebook for news on happy hours (1-for-1 on cocktails, home-infused shot flights) and their so-called Samurai Nights with live music.